Home > Music > CD Review > Grand Ole Party, 'Humanimals'

Grand Ole Party, 'Humanimals'

Sexy/scary singer Kristin Gundred is the main attraction in this San Diego trio

By Jeff Miller, Special to Metromix

February 4, 2008

Critic's Rating:

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Backstory: San Diego's Grand Ole Party is a three-piece, female-fronted indie rock band on the way up; following buzzed-about SXSW shows last year, they were offered a tour with Rilo Kiley, whom they'll share a bill with again at Coachella later this year.

Why you should care: Lead singer Kristen Gundred carries on the rock tradition laid down by yelpers like Courtney Love and Karen O—the brash, brawny female voice, equally sexy and intimidating.

Verdict: As far as three-pieces go, Grand Ole Party sure makes a lot of noise. The album's filled with “Nuggets”-y garage-rockers like “Insane,” which hookily insists that “we are all going to die here” while sounding like it loves life, and old-fashioned, swinging spitfires like “Dirty Spirit Rag,” which Gundred infuses with a dose of burlesque sexiness. But unlike the best work of the Yeah Yeah Yeahs—Grand Ole Party's closest forebears—“Humanimals” never sounds quite dangerous enough. Its cantankerous spirit is doused in a healthy (though not always complimentary) dose of professionalism.

X-Factor: The remixed “Radio” closes the album with a reggae treatment from dub pioneer the Scientist—a canny move that garnered praise from bloggers even as it escaped the album's mostly minimalist trappings.